The Choices We Make
by OPhantomOGamerO
Summary: The choices we make define who we are. Whether it be to follow someone else's dreams or find our own.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail.**

**X771**

The figure of a short, blond-haired six-year old stared on impassively at the destruction in front him. The large demonic figure that had appeared early in the day continued to destroy the small village of Konoha with each swing of its arms. It was unfortunate really, Konoha happened to be one of the only village's in Fiore to produce next to no potential mages. They were completely unprepared for an attack from a demon like Deliora. At least not most of them.

Uzumaki Naruto had, like most orphans in Konoha, been kicked out of Konoha's orphanage the moment he was capable of taking care of himself. However, unlike most of Konoha's inhabitants Naruto was not content to remain stagnant, unchanging like the village had been since its founding. He had taught himself how to fight, to hunt for food outside of the village, to _survive_. While everyone else was surprised by Deliora's rapid approach, Naruto had long since left the village. Now he watched it burn from an overlooking ridge.

* * *

It was late in the evening. The sun had just set and the sky was lit up by the slowly dying flames of what had used to be Konoha. Deliora had left, continuing its trail of destruction through the continent. Naruto had waited to see if anyone had survived the carnage but it appeared that Deliora had been quite thorough.

He stood up. If he left now he could be in the nearest town in about two days. First though was seeing if there was anything left in the village salvageable. It wasn't like anyone else would be using it.

* * *

Naruto strode through what had once been a large pair of carved wooden gates. They had decorated the entrance of Konoha and were the first thing that visitors, rare as they were, would see. He strode forward into the village. The best place to check for goods would be the general store on the main street.

He turned to head for the store only to be greeted by the sight of another person. _'What? A survivor? No, I've never seen him around before and those are travelling clothes. Wonder what happened that he needs that eyepatch though.'_

Naruto's thoughts were suddenly cut off by the stranger.

'You know, you're quite interesting boy. I've never seen someone of your age to plan everything so carefully. You escaped the destruction of your village and, rather than assist anyone, you watch, unflinchingly, as the other villagers are cut down." The stranger's tone was calculative, as if he were used to planning everything, even his own words.

"Not my village." replied Naruto curtly. "I merely lived here. Now its gone and I am simply getting enough supplies to make my way to the next village."

Hades stared at the boy, his slight shock and interest hidden from the boy. "As I said earlier you are quite interesting. And what do you plan on doing afterwards?"

"I suppose I'll become a mage. Thats all anyone seems to talk about. And as a mage I can do anything I want. I'll never be stuck somewhere like this village again. Its all just so….slow." Naruto momentarily struggled as he tried to find a word to describe the village. "Everything just drifts slowly along and then drifts off again."

Hades smiled internally at this. _'Perfect.'_ "Well then boy, I have an offer for you. I'm assembling a ….group so to say. Once we achieve our goals you could have anything you wanted. I'll even teach you magic. What do you say?" Hades was no fool. He had been watching Deliora for a while now in his studies of Zeref. He hadn't found anything interesting until he spotted Naruto the day before Deliora attacked. The sheer amount of magical power he radiated was astonishing.

"Anything I want? Whatsoever?"

"Anything. In the Ultimate Magic World you can change things however you like."

Naruto stood there as if he was thinking but, in reality, he had made up his mind when Hades had mentioned magic. He had always known he could use it, a strange, innate ability he occasionally used by accident. It had always separated him from the rest of the village who couldn't use magic at all.

"All right then. I agree."

Hades smiled at him. "Very well then. We'll head off shortly. Once we…." Hades trailed off as he spotted a small glint out of the corner of his eye. It was partially covered in the ruins of a small two-story house. He made his way over, motioning for Naruto to follow.

They moved part of the rubble to discover the glint was from a small glowing rune. The rune covered the trapdoor to what appeared to be the basement of the house. As they approached the rune glowed once more before disappearing.

Naruto stared at the trapdoor cautiously. "What was that?"

Hades turned partially, his eyes still fixed on where the rune had been. It had been highly complex and would've kept out all but the greatest of Rune Magic users. "Rune Magic is an extremely versatile form of magic. This rune seemed to be keeping anyone from accessing the basement except for the caster."

Naruto nodded. "Thanks..." He trailed off, just realizing he didn't even know the name of the man he had agreed to follow.

"From now on refer to me as Master Hades, alright?"

"Yes, Master Hades. Ah, my name is Naruto." Naruto hurriedly stated his own name, so as not to annoy his new teacher.

"Well then, I'm going to take a look down here. Wait here, I won't be long."

* * *

Hades stepped back out into the light of day, his mind reeling from what he had learned. The owner of the house, Kushina Uzumaki, was definitely a strong mage from what he had read in her journal. Her Chain Magic sounded extremely useful and would require further examination, however, the real shock had been learning about Naruto. Considering who he was related to Hades fully expected things to get interesting in the next few years.

* * *

**X781**

And interesting they were. Naruto had completely destroyed any expectations that Hades had for him. And despite the talented individuals that Hades gathered for his now named Seven Kin of Purgatory, none of them had ever conclusively won in a fight with Naruto. This continued to annoy Zancrow, who would then disappear, destroy part of Grimoire Heart's airship in a ridiculous training regime, only to lose again to Naruto.

However the person most affected by Naruto's presence was Ultear. Partially due to their extremely similar magics and partially due to the fact he always took time out of his day to spend time with her. However the time they spent together slowly dwindled after Ultear, at Hades request, influenced Jellal Fernandes at the Tower of Heaven.

"You looking for me, Master Hades?" Naruto had grown since Hades found him; he was currently sixteen and was now standing at 6'1". His blond hair spiked up, most of it falling down to between his shoulder blades, with a few strands hanging in front of his forehead. He wore black, ragged hakama pants tied with a crimson sash and a black jacket with the right sleeve torn off. Hanging at his waist was his custom sword he had dubbed Muramasa. The sword was made specifically for usage with his unique magic.

"Naruto. I have a specific mission for you. I doubt anyone else except Bluenote could complete it but I am loathe to send him out alone."

Naruto stood up a little straighter at this. Despite his dwindling respect for Hades this mission sounded quite interesting. "Alright then. What am I doing?"

"Fairy Tail's Ace, Gildarts Clive has recently left on the 100-year mission. I want you to ambush him. He will a hindrance to our plans later and this is too good a chance to pass up on."

Naruto's entire body went rigid at that. He considered himself strong, and he was definitely an S-class mage but taking on Fairy Tail's Ace? He now understood why only himself and Bluenote were considered for this mission. Any of the others would be crushed almost instantly. However with his magic he stood a good chance of holding his own against Gildarts.

**"**Very well then. I'll see you when I get back. Master Hades." he finished before giving a curt nod and turning to stride out of the room to get ready. As he left a small shiver of anticipation ran up his spine. After all, it wasn't everyday you got to fight one of the strongest mages in Fiore.

* * *

**Alrighty then. I've been getting loads of requests to update In Search of Nakama but this was floating around in my head bugging me and, since I have it planned out up to the Grand Magic Games I figured I'd throw up a chapter. Enjoy and please review.**


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